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Schools Head of the River Race 2017

Tuesday, 28 March 2017 - 9:04am

Headington School had four eights racing at the Schools Head of the River Race (SHORR), a J15, J16 1st and 2nd VIII. Strong winds on the day of the race meant that despite calm conditions from Hammersmith to Putney the organisers were forced to shorten the course and run the race from Chiswick to the Dukes Meadows Bandstand; a reduction of over 3km to an overall race distance of approximately 1700m.

Having prepared for a long distance race all of the Headington crews adapted well to the conditions and were able to adjust their mind set to cope with the shorter race distance.

J15 VIII

For many of the J15s this was their first race in a sweep boat with some members of the crew having only a handful of sweep sessions under their belt before taking to the Tideway for the race. The girls raced well despite the extremely challenging conditions (especially for an inexperienced crew) finishing 13th from 19 in the J15 Championship eights event.

J16 VIII

The J16 eight was looking to build on their excellent performances at Reading University Head and the Women’s Head racing for the first time this season in their own age category. The crew of Rachel, Leith, Emily, Cordi, Grace, Trudie, Charlotte, Alice and cox Lizzie worked well through the wind and waves between Chiswick and Barnes to win the J16 Championship eights event by 6 seconds.

2nd VIII

The HSOBC 2nd eight was racing in the new Girls School 1st eights event and were competing against other school 2nd eights but also against 1st eights from several clubs and schools from across the country. The crew found a good rhythm despite the conditions and adapted well to the shortened course to place an impressive second place out of 13 in this competitive event.

1st VIII

The 1st eight of Danielle, Franny, Isabel, Tilly, Lucy, Rosie, Liz, Katie and coxed by Annelise were looking for another good performance following their record time at the Women’s Head two weeks earlier. The girls came out of the blocks fast, rising to the challenge of a 1700m race this early in the season; finding their stride early the girls raced well, taking 1st place for Headington in the Girls Championship eights event for the 5th consecutive year.